Sycorax
Sycorax is a larger outer moon than Uranus. It has a retrograde and highly inclined orbit. Basic data Estimated diameter is 160 km. It orbits Uranus at 12.18 million km, on an elliptic orbit. It orbits around Uranus in 1289 Earth days (3.5 years) and orbits around its axis in 3.6 hours. Not much is known about this moon. The most powerful telescopes could not resolve any surface details. Its mass is not well known, making its density also unknown. Sycorax has a low albedo (0.047), one of the lowest in the Solar System. Because of this, we expect it to be made of dirty ice, water ice with many impurities. The most accepted theory is that Sycoras was an asteroid, most probably a centaur, captured into orbit around Uranus. Interesting, Sycorax is close in size with Phoebe, Saturn's largest outer moon. Both moons seem to have low albedo, both are retrograde and both seem to be captured bodies. So, Sycorax can be considered Uranus's Phoebe. Reasons for colonization What reason would someone have to build a colony on Sycorax? What economical activities can support a colony out there? As we move away from the Sun, water ice is the dominant ingredient we will find. Rocks that would be solid at Earth's temperature are more rare and usually covered by thick crusts of ice. All major moons of Uranus are covered by ice crusts. Sycorax appears to have a low albedo, which is compatible with a dirty ice. This little moon might contain significant amounts of heavier compounds, including silicates and tholins. In addition, even metals might exist. Uranus lies in a place where tholins are in small amounts, unlike what we find in the Kuiper Belt and around Neptune. Organics are rare, since the moons of Uranus have too little gravity to retain methane and ammonia. The only confirmed compounds on the surface of the large moons are water ice and carbon dioxide. So, if Sycorax contains silicates or tholins, it will be mined for these resources. Uranus has many outer moons, but all of them are found to be too small. Sycorax is larger. We don't know if Sycorax is differentiated. If it is, its core should be closer to the surface then in case of other moons of Uranus. Mining should not be difficult. Colony Given its small size, terraforming is out of question. Mining operations will require first a source of energy, in this case a nuclear generator. Solar power would require too large panels. Second, a base will need to be built on the surface, with platforms for docking ships, loading equipment and a repair facility. A colony will host all working personnel and visitors. Because Sycorax is too far from the inner moons of Uranus, the colony must produce its own food and oxygen, recycling its carbon dioxide and wastewater. For this, plants will need to grow, while bacteria will decompose wasted materials. The mines of Sycorax will be on the surface or underground, depending on conditions. The moon has a low gravity, so mining operations will not be expensive. Mining can be done in various ways. To purify extracted materials, settlers will heat the ice up to melting point. This process can separate insoluble materials easy. Then, void distillation can separate soluble materials. By gradual heating newly extracted ores with the heat from cooling water and ice, much heat can be saved. The lack of gravity can be compensated with the use of centrifugal force, which will help us separate insoluble materials faster. After this process, water ice can be deposited in former mining sites. At -180 C, water ice is as solid as stone, so it can be used as a construction material. Surrounding space A major advantage for Sycorax is its large Hill sphere. There are many safe orbits around the moon. Industrial corporations can take advantage of this space to build factories that can use extracted materials from the moon. In addition, industrial centers can be built on the surface. Sycorax can later be used as an outpost for colonizing the outer moons of Uranus. Nearly all moons (except Margaret) share similar, elliptical and retrograde, highly inclined orbits. Category:Moons Category:Paraterraforming candidates